Tiller attachment for power mowers

ABSTRACT

A tiller assembly for attachment to power mowers or the like, said assembly comprising a support framework adapted to be conveniently connected to a power mower housing, a drive shaft rotatably carried by the framework and operatively connected to a plurality of tiller tines for rotation thereof, and a drive belt connecting the power mower output shaft with the drive shaft and being provided with means for selectively adjusting the belt tension during operation of the assembly.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,744,569 Ehrlich 1 July 10, 1973 [54]TlLLER ATTACHMENT FOR POWER 2,864,293 12/1958 Edrich et al. 172/42MOWERS 3,040,590 6/1962 Smithburn l72/42 X [76] Inventor: BenjaminEhrlich, 3200 Prim 9 I ry Exammer-Robert E. Pulfrey li gggg g Lane GreatBend Assistant Examiner-R. T. Hader Attorney-Harvey B. Jacobson [22]Filed: Dec. 13, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 207,489 ABSTRACT A tiller assemblyfor attachment to power mowers or [52] Us C] 172/42 172/125 172/247 thelike, said assembly comprisinga support framework [51] 6 33/00 adaptedto be conveniently connected to a power [58] Field 56/2 169 mowerhousing, a drive shaft rotatably carried by the framework andoperatively connected to a plurality of tiller tines for rotationthereof, and a drive belt con- [56] References Cited nectlng the powermower output shaft with the drive I shaft and being provided with meansfor selectively ad- UNITED STATES PATENTS justing the belt tensionduring operation of the assem' 3,455,398 7/1969 Bowers 172/247 X 1 r2,975,839 3/1961 Burrows et al... 172/42 X r 2,792,770 5/1957 Ober172/68 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures TILLER ATTACHMENT FOR POWER MOWERSThe present invention is generally related to soil tillers and, moreparticularly, to a tiller attachment for rotary power mowers and similarequipment.

In recent years rotary power mowers have become quite popular and, morerecently, other power driven equipment such as soil tillers, aeratorsand fertilizers have become common with landscaping and gardeningenthusiasts. As such, many homeowners have become burdened with severalpieces of power driven equipment which take up considerable storagespace and which are relatively expensive to purchase and maintain. Thisis particularly true of conventional power driven soil tillers.Therefore, it is desirable to provide a soil tiller attachment which mayutilize the motor associated with a rotary power mower, or similar powerequipment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel tillerattachment for use with conventional rotary power mowers or similarportable power equipment with a vertical output shaft directed towardthe ground, such attachment including means for'conveniently and quicklymounting to the mower frame thereby providing an inexpensive powerdriven soil tiller.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique tillerattachment of relatively simple construction and which may be easilyattached to an existing rotary power mower with a minimum amount oflabor and expense, thereby utilizing the power mower motor to drive thetiller tines.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a versatiletiller attachment for mounting to power mowers and which includes meansfor selectively controlling the drive of the tiller tines duringoperation thereof by the power mower motor.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter constructed and operation as morefully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals referto like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the tiller attachment of the presentinvention taken along section 11 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the tiller attachment of the presentinvention mounted to" a typical power mower housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along section 44 of FIG. 1. 7

FIG. is a sectional view taken along section 55 of FIG. 1.

Referring now, more particularly, to the drawings, the tiller attachmentof the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 10 and isprovided with a framework including a relatively rigid mounting plate 12of steel, or similar materials with a plurality of mounting arms 14pivotally connected thereto. The outer ends of each mounting arm may beprovided with a threaded bolt 16, or similar fastener which is adaptedto engage a power mower housing, such as that indicated at 18. Thehousing is illustrated as being provided with a peripheral flange orwidened portion which coacts with each fastening bolt 16, as illustratedin FIG.

taken along section 33 of 5. However, other fastening means may beutilized for connection to the power mower housing, as required. It willbe appreciated that the pivotal connection of each fastening arm to themounting plate permits accommodation of many. power mower housings ofdifferent sizes and configurations.

It should be noted that while the tiller attachment of the presentinvention is illustrated as being connected to a conventional rotarypower mower construction, it is not intended that the attachment belimited to use with rotary power mowers since such may be connected toother types of power driven equipment which are provided with rotaryoutput shafts extending in a downward direction. Such an output shaft isindicated at 24 and is normally provided with means for carrying arotary cutting blade, not illustrated. When utilizing a conventionalrotary power mower construction, a drive sheave such as that indicatedat 26 is substituted for the rotary cutting blade, such being held inplace by way of a key or set screw. The tiller attachment is providedwith a second sheave 28 with a drive belt 30, of a conventional typeconnecting it with sheave 26. Sheave 28 is affixed to the upper end of adrive shaft 32 which is rotatably supported by the tiller attachmentframework and extends downwardly into an enclosure 34 surrounding a wormdrive including a worm gear 36 and pinion 38.

A plurality of soil tiller tines 40 are mounted to a tiller shaft 42 byway of bolts 44, or similar fastening means. The tiller shaft is keyedto pinion 38, such that it is advanced therewith when drivinglyconnected to the power mower motor. Each tiller tine is of aconventional construction, but may include more ground engaging membersthan that illustrated in the drawings.

Drive shaft 32 and the associated housing 34 are mounted near one and ofmounting plate 12 such that the tiller tines provide support for themower housing and motor along a first general edge area thereof. Inorder to provide proper balance and control of the tiller duringoperation, a wheel assembly 46 may be provided which is fastened to theopposite end of mounting plate 12 by way of wing nuts 48 or similarfastening means and which extends in a downward direction for engagementwith the ground surfaces.

Control of the belt tension 30 may be provided by way of an idler pulley50 which is rotatably carried by an eccentric rod 52 pivotally connectedto mounting plate 12 by way of a bushing 54, or similar means. Theeccentric rod is providedwith an integral lever arm 56 positioned alongthe underside of mounting'plate 12. In order to provide a securemounting for the eccentric rod, a hole 58 maybe provided in the powermower housing in substantial alignment with bushing 54 when the tillerattachment is in proper position. If desired, the necessity of amounting hole in the mower housing may be eliminated by providing alarger bushing to assure rigidity to the eccentric rod during theoperation thereof. It will be appreciated that manipulation of lever arm56 associated with the eccentric rod is effective to change the positionof idler pulley 50 relative to sheaves 26 and 28. This provides aconvenient means of adjusting the belt tension between the sheaves.Preferably, adjustment of the lever arm is achieved by way of anelongated control cable 60 which extends beneath the mounting plate tothe mower handle assembly, not illustrated, by way of a small lever,such as that at 62, pulley or similar fitting. As such, by manipulatinga lever on the handle assembly it is possible to adjust the belt tensionduring operation of the mower with tiller attachment. The idler pulleymay be effective to provide a clutch action to the belt, depending uponthe amount of slack provided. By selecting the proper drive belt size,it is possible to conveniently control movement of the tiller tineswhile the mower motor remains running. This permits the user of thetiller attachment to stop forward motion thereof without stopping themower motor.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the tillerattachment of the present invention provides an inexpensive andconvenient means of tilling soil without the need of an expensivepermanently mounted motor construction. The tiller attachment is adaptedto accommodate most existing rotary mower constructions with a minimumnumber of modifications. Furthermore, once the initial installation andmodifications have been made to the power mower, it is apparent that theattachment may be readily disconnected and the mower cutting bladereinstalled, as required. The tiller attachment is relatively simple inconstruction and utilizes a minimum number of moving parts. Furthermorethe compactness of the attachment permits easy storage in a minimumamount of space.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a piece of power equipment with a downwardlydirected output shaft and adjacent housing, a tiller attachment, saidattachment comprising: a relatively rigid support framework including astationary plate underlying said housing, means mounted on said platefor releasably fastening said framework to said housing, a drive shaftrotatably supported by said framework and normally extending in adownward direction toward the ground, a plurality of tiller tinesdrivingly connected to one end of said drive shaft for workingengagement with the ground, a first sheave affixed to the opposite endof said drive shaft, a second sheave affixed to said output shaft a beltconnecting said first and second sheaves, an eccentric shaft pivotallysupported by said plate for selective movement about a first axis, anidler pulley mounted to said eccentric shaft and rotatable about asecond axis spaced from said first axis to adjust the belt tension bysnug engagement of said idler pulley with said belt, and control meansoperatively connected to said eccentric shaft and extending to the powerequipment for selective rotation of said eccentric shaft for adjustmentof the belt tension during operation.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said control meansincludes an elongated flexible member adapted to extend between theidler pulley mounting and the power mower handle assembly.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2 wherein said tiller tines areconnected to said drive shaft by a worm gear drive.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3 wherein said attachment includes apair of wheels connected to said framework to maintain said plate andmower in a substantially horizontal position above the ground.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 wherein said fastening meansincludes a plurality of arms pivotally mounted to said plate andextending horizontally outward therefrom and in retentive engagementwith said power equipment housing.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing includes asupport hole, a portion of said eccentric shaft being disposed in saidsupport hole to support said pulley and eccentric shaft between saidplate and said housing.

1. In combination with a piece of power equipment with a downwardlydirected output shaft and adjacent housing, a tiller attachment, saidattachment comprising: a relatively rigid support framework including astationary plate underlying said housing, means mounted on said platefor releasably fastening said framework to said housing, a drive shaftrotatably supported by said framework and normally extending in adownward direction toward the ground, a plurality of tiller tinesdrivingly connected to one end of said drive shaft for workingengagement with the ground, a first sheave affixed to the opposite endof said drive shaft, a second sheave affixed to said output shaft, abelt connecting said first and second sheaves, an eccentric shaftpivotally supported by said plate for selective movement about a firstaxis, an idler pulley mounted to said eccentric shaft and rotatableabout a second axis spaced from said first axis to adjust the belttension by snug engagement of said idler pulley with said belt, andcontrol means operatively connected to said eccentric shaft andextending to the power equipment for selective rotation of saideccentric shaft for adjustment of the belt tension during operation. 2.The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said control means includesan elongated flexible member adapted to extend between the idler pulleymounting and the power mower handle assembly.
 3. The structure set forthin claim 2 wherein said tiller tines are connected to said drive shaftby a worm gear drive.
 4. The structure set forth in claim 3 wherein saidattachment includes a pair of wheels connected to said framework tomaintain said plate and mower in a substantially horizontal positionabove the ground.
 5. The structure set forth in claim 4 wherein saidfastening means includes a plurality of arms pivotally mounted to saidplate and extending horizontally outward therefrom and in retentiveengagement with said power equipment housing.
 6. The structure set forthin claim 1 wherein said housing includes a support hole, a portion ofsaid eccentric shaft being disposed in said support hole to support saidpulley and eccentric shaft between said plate and said housing.